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"Annie Get Your Gun at the Annie"
September 28, 2006
 |
| Kate and friends outside the Annie Russell
Theatre before the preview showing of Annie Get Your
Gun. |
Last Thursday, our RCC class attended the preview showing of
Annie Get Your Gun, the fall musical put on by some extremely
talented students here at Rollins. It was such a fun night!
First of all, I am obsessed with the Annie Russell Theatre It is
possibly the most beautiful theatre known to man. Every time I walk
in, I feel like I have stepped into the Phantom of the Opera
or something. It’s just so mysterious and artsy! Maybe it’s the
dramatic columns, or the red seats, or the fact that it’s always
dark inside… I could hang out there all the time.
To sum up the show, Annie Get Your Gun, Irving Berlin’s
magnum opus, represents the epitome of the American Musical Comedy.
Written in the 50s with an eye for questioning the formulaic role of
women, this charming exhibition of our favorite American ideal— the
Cinderella story with a pleasant “happily ever after”— was presented
with energy and enthusiasm by the talented individuals of Rollins
College at the Annie Russell Theatre.
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| Annie Get Your Gun is one of many
productions shown at the Annie Russell Theatre at
Rollins. |
When the sure-shot ragamuffin Annie Oakley challenges the famous
(and decidedly arrogant) “cham-peen” Frank Butler to a shooting
match, Frank’s boss Buffalo Bill recognizes Annie’s talent, as well
as the money to be gained from a lady who can shoot the fuzz off a
peach. He recruits Annie into the life of show-business, where,
despite Annie’s ignorance and lack of experience, she manages to
charm her way into the hearts of audiences, as well as the heart of
Frank Butler. The actors did a very nice job of bringing this story
to life, and considering they had less than a month of rehearsal, I
was very impressed by their dedication and professionalism. I know
my first month at school has been more than a little hectic, so to
know that these students gave up their evenings and weekends for a
month was really awesome.
An interesting question this play brought up was the treatment of
Native Americans in the original script. I am part Native American
and very proud to be. I remember seeing the movie of Annie Get Your
Gun (made in the 50s) as a child and just hating the way they
portrayed my people. However, when the show was recently revived,
they re-worked the script to reverse these stereotypes, and instead
make fun of the people who undervalued the Native Americans.
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| Kate and friends enjoy a late night meal at Steak
'n Shake. |
Our RCC class had an interesting discussion with the director
before the show, in which she informed us of the changes they had
made in the musical to try and stay away from stereotypes. We also
talked about the show’s original ending— where Annie loses a match
on purpose so she won’t intimidate Frank— and how they changed that
so that Frank also loses the match on purpose. It’s interesting to
see how gender roles have changed in the last 50 years.
After the show, my friends and I went out for the traditional
“breakfast at midnight”… at Steak 'n Shake. That might be one of my
favorite things about college so far— the insane amounts of eating
you get to do!
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| More about Kate...
As the daughter of two parents participating in mission work
overseas, Kate spent a lot of her childhood in many places
around the world. She looks forward to becoming involved in
student government, The
Sandspur student newspaper, theatre, choir, Campus
Crusade for Christ and community service organizations.
Kate said, "A good perspective keeps me aware of what's
truly significant in my life. Balanced perspective will help
every potential student with the decision of choosing a
college -- or any major life decision."
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